Bahraini filmmaker Faten Bushehri, based in the Netherlands, is bringing to light a tender story of a teenage refugee trying to adjust to a new life in Europe.
Her short documentary entitled Karim is part of a series dealing with the stories of children in a similar situation called Ik Ben Nieuw (I am New).
The five-part series, produced by Buddy Film Production and EODocs, has been nominated as a contender for a prize in the prestigious Dutch television awards show, the Gouden Televizier-Ring.
“I’m an immigrant and even as an adult, I struggled to make friends or find my place,” Ms Bushehri explained. “So it feels like a full circle moment to know that we have a platform to tell these stories and that we’re being recognised.
“Knowing that we’re just as good as everybody here boosts your confidence because it is hard to breakthrough in the cinema industry.”
Ms Bushehri was born and raised in Bahrain but has spent most of her adult life as an immigrant in the United States and the Netherlands and the experiences have helped shape her vision as a filmmaker and story-teller.
“I’ve lived abroad for a long time and every place that I’ve stayed in, and everything I have gone through, has helped shape me and provided me with a voice,” she said.
The theme of much of her work surrounds identity and finding a place in the world. “I feel like I don’t belong necessarily in one place,” she added. “That’s why the voice that I have is different ... that experience of having to fit into a different world that you don’t know, and navigating through it, remains a challenge.”
Ms Bushehri’s short film highlights the challenges faced by a 13-year-old Syrian schoolboy. Karim struggles to fit into his new environment in the Dutch village of Makkum, trying hard to learn the language, for example.
After a public vote, the entry has been placed in the top three in the youth category. The contest result will be broadcast on October 16.
The film follows the unsevered connection he feels to his homeland, the friendships he holds onto from back home, and how he keeps the music of his old life alive through Oud lessons.
It will also be showcased at the Bahrain Film Festival, which is taking place from October 30 to November 4.
She brings the tale alive through brightly-lit backgrounds and stunning tracking shots that aim to convey the child’s youthful vigour. However, her precise storytelling also accurately captures his melancholy, the longing for a life he left behind and the discomfort of creating a place for himself in an unfamiliar setting.
The 37-year-old filmmaker said she found Karim and decided to tell his story after speaking to a couple of children at a school in Makkum that had been working to integrate young refugees into Dutch society.
She said the most challenging part of filming was convincing the child’s mother to let her tell Karim’s story authentically. “They wanted to us to show him in the best light because they are refugees and there’s always a stigma,” she told the GDN. “They wanted to make sure he was well behaved and saying the right things.
“It was challenging because I didn’t want him to be controlled by his parents on set. It was a matter of trust and, once his mother started to trust me, it was a lot easier.”
She credits the success of her production to the friendly atmosphere they were able to create with the mostly Syrian production crew, including the cinematographer Saeed Al Hammad.
“Luckily, we felt like a family.”
She admits that she sometimes got upset with the young star of the shoot when he got ‘distracted’ but they were able to build a relationship of mutual respect.
“I would sit him down to explain to him how important it was to get all the shots I needed,” she explained. “He is very intelligent and would really give his best, so he picked things up very quickly.
“He started to understand our film-making jargon, appreciate how we do things and was very interested in the crew and what they did behind the scenes, so it felt like we are also teaching a young man about a field of work he may one day aspire to be part of.”
Ms Bushehri said it ‘felt good’ to be told that Ik Ben Nieuw had been nominated for the TV awards and recognised, especially knowing that it was a show created mainly by immigrant filmmakers about young refugees.
She is also thrilled to have her film showcased at the coming Bahrain Film Festival. “I’m very excited because this is the first time that I come back to Bahrain as a filmmaker rather than someone coming home to visit family. This will be the first time I have had my work shown here.”
She said she looks forward to getting to know the creative community in Bahrain and hopes to use the experience she has gained so far to bridge the gap between Bahraini filmmakers and the international stage.
“I want to reconnect with the local scene as I know that there’s a lot of talent and that the production value is high. It would be great to be able to use my position in the Netherlands to work with people from Bahrain and help get their work out internationally,” she added.
The GDN reported in 2022 that Ms Bushehri was working on a silent short film called Bloom, which she wrote and directed. She has since directed several more short films and assisted on other projects.
She is currently working on another short film project and her first feature-length movie which she finds ‘nerve-wracking.’ More details will be released shortly.
&uuid=(email))